Welcome to the Graveyard

"The April 30th 'Welcome to the Graveyard' program presented by Bacon Free Library and the Natick Historic Society, and supported by a grant from Natick Cultural Council, was an enormous success," said Bacon's Library Director John Brisbin. "We had a capacity crowd. A ton of people arrived early. Many had to stand or else sit in the library's window seat in the very back; and no one wanted to leave even at 9:30 pm!"

Gravestone Girls' Brenda Sullivan took the audience on a lively, dynamic ninety minute Power Point tour of Natick and other New England cemeteries. Those pictured and discussed spanned from Native American burial sites of the mid 1600s --Bacon Free Library was built near one such site in 1881-- to those of the present time. Along this time line Brenda Sullivan pointed out gravestone markings and elements of cemetery design which reflected changes in American history, culture, art, architecture, landscaping, and symbolism.

"Brenda's passion for this area of study just beams," Brisbin said. "She makes studying cemeteries such an uplifting and certainly an educational experience."

Photo below is of Natick Historic Society Museum Director Roberto Martinez with Gravestone Girls' Brenda Sullivan. The program was presented by Bacon Free Library and the Natick Historic Society. It was supported by a Natick Cultural Council grant.